Cabbage with Chana Dal

Cabbage - 1/2 (half of a medium size one or a small size cabbage)
Chana dal or bengal gram - 1/4 cup
Green chilies - 2 to 3, chopped
Cilanto - a handful, chopped
salt
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - 1 few
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash the whole cabbage well. Chop the leaves finely.

Soak chana dal in sufficient water for at least half an hour.

In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add asafetida, chilies, curry leaves and turmeric powder.

Now add chopped cabbage and chana dal and mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Once the cabbage is cooked, add salt. Remove cover, mix well and cook over high heat for a couple of minutes more. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Dimer Chop / Egg Croquette

Hard boiled eggs - 4
Yukon Gold potatoes - 4, boiled and mash with salt while hot. ( Potatoes need to be enough to cover 8 egg halves)
Ginger, garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 large, sliced.
All Purpose Flour / Cornflour - 1/4 cup
Whole wheat panko bread crumbs / Corn Meal for gluten free option
Salt to taste
Peanut Oil for deep frying

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the onion slices on low, till they turn light brown and caramelise well.

Add ginger, garlic paste and cook for some more time. Then add the mashed potato, garam masala powder and red chili powder and cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and cool the mix.
 
Cut the boiled eggs into half lengthwise.  Cover each egg-half with the potato mix.

Add a little water to make a thin batter with the flour. Add a pinch of salt to the batter. Dip the egg-potato ovals into the batter and roll in bread crumbs / corn meal.

Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Serve immediately with tomato ketchup.

Palak Paneer

Spinach – blanch it in a little boiling water for 2 minutes and blend it in the blender till it forms a smooth paste.
Whole garam masala - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bayleaf
Garlic
Grated onion
Grated tomaro
Ginger
Salt
Sugar
Green chillies
Cold Milk – 1 tbsp (this gives a smooth cream like consistency to the gravy)
Lightly Fried paneer pieces

Heat oil and add the whole garam masala. Then add grated garlic. After a few seconds, add grated onion cook till light brown. Then add the grated tomato and ginger. When the paste starts releasing oil, add salt, sugar and chopped green chillies. Take the pan away from heat and add one tablespoon of cold milk stirring continuously. Put it back on heat and then add the blended palak and fried paneer and cook for 5 minutes. After switching off the heat, add a little butter and serve hot.

Home-made Granola

2 cups Old fashioned Thick Rolled Oats
Slivered Almonds
Walnuts
Flax Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Peanut Oil
Cinnamon powder
Nutmeg powder
A pinch of salt

Raisins( or dried cranberries, dried cherries)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Mix all the ingredients with a spatula except raisins in a big bowl. Lightly grease a baking sheet and spread the mixture over it evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remember to toss for a couple of times in between with a metal spatula. Remove from the oven, mix raisins and spread on an aluminium foil to cool. Cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.

Pav Bhaji

2 cups chopped mixed vegetable - potato, cauliflower, green beans, green peas, carrots, cabbage
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 green chilies chopped
2 tablespoon finely sliced ginger
3 medium chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon red chili
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fennel seed powder and garam masala mixed or pav bhaji masala
Salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cilantro - a bunch, chopped

Steam all the vegetables in a steamer. When the vegetables are soft and tender, drain the excess water and mash them coarsely with a fork. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, green chilies, cilantro, and ginger and sauté for 2-3 minutes until soft.

Next add the red chili powder, pav bhaji masala and turmeric, mix it well.
Add mashed vegetables.

Using a spatula, simultaneously mash and stir all the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add salt and two tablespoons of butter, stir-fry for another minute.
Turn off the heat and add lemon juice, mix it well. Garnish with sliced onion and sliced lemon and serve with whole grain bread.

Peanut Stew

Peanut Butter - 3 tbsp
ginger paste
garlic paste
water - 3 cups

For tempering:
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
hing
curry leaves
chopped green chillies
turmeric

Heat oil in a cast iron pan. Add the imgredients for tempering. Then add the ginger and garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the peanut butter, cook for sometime. Add about a cup of water and cook till the desired consistency. The gravy should not be too thick, the consistency should be like soup.

This curry tastes great with boiled sweet potatoes.

Vegetable Fritters / Pakoda

Use any vegetables of your choice like:
Onion - thickly sliced
Eggplant - thinly sliced roundels
Potato - thinly sliced roundels
Radish - thinly sliced roundels
Spinach - washed and fully dried baby spinach leaves

Oil to deep fry

For the batter:
Besan - 4 tbsp
Brown Rice flour - 1 tbsp
baking soda - a pinch
ajwain seeds - 1/4  tsp
red chilli powder
salt
a pinch of chaat masala
Water

Heat oil in an iron Karai. Mix all the ingredients for the batter. Dip the vegetable slices in the batter and fry in medium hot oil till golden brown. Remove on paper towel to soak off the excess oil. Sprinfle a little chaat masala on top and serve hot.

Red Lentil Fritters / Mushurir Daler Bora

Red Lentil / Mushurir Dal - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Cilantro - 1/2 bunch, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Peanut Oil to deep fry

Soak the lentils overnight or atleast for a few hours.

Drain water and blend in a mixer without adding any water. Add the rest of the ingredients to it.

Heat oil in a wok/kadai. Keep dropping one teaspoon of the mix in hot oil and fry till golden brown.
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This entry is being sent to Mansi @ Fun n Food who is having a giveaway for Magic Bullet http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2010/06/win-magic-bullet-to-go-recipe-contest.html

*******Update on the Magic Bullet Contest Giveaway: I was one of the winners!!!  Thanks Mansi

Mango Chutney / Aamer Chatni

Raw Mango - 1
Sugar - 1/3rd cup
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peanut Oil - about 2 tsps
Whole dried red chillies - 2
Turmeric
Salt
Roasted panch phoron powder
vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Water - just enough to cook the mango

Peel and chop the mango into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan. Temper with mustard seeds and red chilli. Then add the mango pieces, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. Cook for some time and then add water and cover and cook till the mangoes are done. Add a little white vinegar and sugar. Cook till you get the desired thick consistency. Sprinkle about half a tsp of panch phoron powder and serve with fried papads.

Egg Curry / Dimer Kasha

Eggs - 6, hard boiled
Potato - 1, par boiled and cut into cubes
Frozen Green peas - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1, chopped
Tomato - 1
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Turmeric - a pinch
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Whole garam masala - grind coarsely in a pestle
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Apply a little turmeric, red chilli powder, salt to the boiled eggs and fry them gently till they are slightly brown. Keep aside.

In the same oil, fry the cubed potatoes similarly till they are almost cooked. Remove the potatoes.

Add some more oil to the pan. Put the coarsely ground garam masala and stir for a few seconds. Add a little sugar and allow it to caramelise.

Then add the chopped onions and salt and fry till translucent. Add the spices, grated ginger, green peas and chopped tomato and cook till the oil oozes out of the masala.

Add the fried eggs, frozen green peas and potato and toss everything together. Cook for a few minutes more. Sprinkle a little garam masala and serve.

Tomato Chicken

Organic Chicken Drumsticks - 5
Organic Tomato Sauce - 8 oz can / 1 cup
Whole Black Peppercorn - 15
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Salt & Pepper
Water - 1/2 cup

Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper for half an hour.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the whole black peppercorns.

Add the chicken drumsticks one at a time and cook till light brown on both sides.

Add the tomato sauce, water and cover and cook till chicken is done.

Dal Bati Churma

Adapted from http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2010/06/dal-bati-churma-baked-wheat-dumplings.html

Moong dal ( around 2 tbsp )
Tuvar dal ( 1/2 cup )
Chana dal ( around 3 tbsp )
Masoor dal ( 1/3 cup )
Urad dal ( 1/3 cup )
Onion sliced lengthwise
Ginger sliced lengthwise
Green chillies chopped
Jeera / Cumin seeds
Hing / Asafoetida
Turmeric powder
Red Chilli powder
Lemon juice or Amchur
Salt to taste
Ghee
Water

Wash the dals and soak in a bowl.Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan/handi.Add the jeera, when it starts to splutter add the hing.Add the onions and green chillies immediately and stir fry for a while.Now add the ginger and stir.

Add the dal, haldi, mirchi, salt and enough water.Add the lemon juice or Amchur powder Close the lid of the pan and cook on medium heat for 1 hour or till the dal is cooked.

Whole Wheat flour - 3 cups
Salt to taste
Ghee
Water

Knead the dough first with a little ghee and then with water as you would for chapatis/ rotis. It should be firm and not too soft. Line a baking tray with ghee. Apply a little ghee on you palms, break off a medium sized ball from the wheat dough and roll it between your palms to give roughly roundish shape.


Do not roll them into very smooth balls .. the broken sides will make them crispy.
Bake at 225 F for two and a half hours. Flip them over after around an hour.

For Churma:
A few Batis
Sugar to taste
Elaichi / cardamom ( optional )
Ghee
Break the baatis (and the ghee + elachi , if using ) and run in a mixer for a coarse powder.
Remove and mix the sugar well.
Serve with the Dal and Baati.

Methi Capsicum

Potato – 1 medium sized, cut into thin small triangular shaped slices
Capsicum – 1, cut into small squares
Fenugreek / Methi Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Yellow Onion – 1 small, chopped
Garlic – 2 pods, thinly sliced
Ginger – ½ inch, thinly sliced
Tomato paste – 1 tbsp or 1 fresh tomato chopped
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red Chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil – 2 tbsp
Cilantro for garnishing (optional)

Heat oil and temper with methi seeds.

Add the chopped onion and fry till translucent.

Add the potato, ginger and garlic slices and saute for 5 minutes.

Then add turmeric, chili powder, salt, tomato paste and capsicum. Toss for a minute and cook covered, on low heat till the potato and capsicum are soft. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

Sending this recipe to Anu's "SYF&HWS - Cook with SPICES" guest hosted by Vardhini of  Zesty Palette.

Doi Begun / Eggplant in yoghurt sauce

Adapted from http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2008/08/doi-begun-dahi-baingan.html

Brinjals  ... cut into thick roundels and marinated with salt and turmeric, red shilli powder, a little sugar
2 cups Yoghurt,
2 tsp besan,
Oil to deep fry the brinjals
1 tbsp oil,
A few curry leaves,
mustard seeds,
Whole dry red chillies,
Around 2 tbsp sugar.
 
Heat enough oil ( preferably mustard oil ) and deep fry the brinjals .

Mix the besan and sugar with the curd and add a pinch of turmeric to it. Mix well with a little water till smooth. Heat the cooking oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.
Now add the curd and cook on a low flame till it comes to a boil.
Keep stirring till you get the desired consistency ( it should not be too watery) and add the fried brinjals.
Cook for some more time